Happy World (3 page)

“Wow. A real pecking order, huh? Sounds kind of like seventeenth century England, if you ask me.” Rory couldn’t believe it was that much of a big deal.

“Call it what you want. I’ve been here for two years and I’ve yet to see anyone in Entertainment date anyone out of their working class, with the possible exception of Park Ambassadors. Who are above them, of course.”

“Of course.” Rory couldn’t keep the edge of sarcasm out of his voice. This whole place was so tight on their rules and regs that it even affected who he was allowed to crush on. Not cool. “I’ll stick to Groundskeepers.”

“Or Food Services,” Kyle offered helpfully. “But I wouldn’t advise actually dating anyone here. It’s frowned on.”

Of course it was. “Everything’s frowned on,” Rory grumbled. “And it’s not like I want to date anyone.” Dating meant hearts and flowers. He just wanted to mess around. “I thought Happy World was supposed to be the most Fantastical Place on the Planet.”

“It is!” Kyle nodded several times in rapid succession. “You just have a lot to learn.”

Boy, did he.

Chapter Three

Rory was going to need a lot of work.

Kyle ticked off a mental checklist of areas Rory would need to concentrate on if his new Trainee wanted to remain employed by Happy World as he led Rory toward Terrestrial Traders, a large merchandise shop in Galaxy Land, and to an unobtrusive door marked by small sign that read, “Actors Only.” Behind the door was a steep set of metal stairs that led down into the utility tunnels that crisscrossed underneath the Park.

He was late, he was eating onstage, his hair needs a trim, he’s wearing jewelry, and he seems to be easily distracted.

Although Kyle admitted, if only to himself, that he could understand how Rory might be distracted by Charlie Taylor. Kyle had been guilty of the same offense from time to time. How could he not? Charlie was gorgeous, with a big, bright smile that never seemed to be for Kyle, and gorgeous blue eyes that never seemed to focus on him, not to mention a phenomenally toned body poured inside the ripped shirt and tight breeches that made up Charlie’s costume.

Charlie certainly fit his role as Daniel the Dragon Slayer, and was one of the sexiest Happy World characters. Kyle personally dreaded the day someone in Corporate woke up and realized just how sexy Daniel the Dragon Slayer was -- they’d probably fall all over themselves in their haste to cover up that fabulous body. Most likely, they’d stick Charlie in a gunnysack to hide all his muscles. Sexy definitely wasn’t a part of the Happy World Look.

Not that Kyle stood a chance with Charlie anyway. Even if Charlie hadn’t been a face character and so far above Groundskeeping as to be in another universe, Charlie was so hot he could, and usually did, have his pick of men. Kyle knew Charlie preferred tall, handsome, self-confident men like... well, like Rory, for example, and not mousy, nearly-invisible men like himself.

Speaking of, where is he? Kyle looked behind him and saw Rory trying to pick up an empty pop bottle. It kept slipping out of Rory’s plastic claw and rolling away, making him run after it. It would’ve been funny if Rory wasn’t going to make them late for their break. “Rory! Come on. We only get a half hour for a lunch break.”

He held the door open as Rory came trotting up. “I can do a break,” Rory said. “I’m roasting.” He swiped his forehead with his sleeve, and Kyle added “poor care of costume” to his growing mental checklist. “Where are we going?”

“The tunnels, which are affectionately known among Happy World Actors as the Hamster Wheel,” Kyle answered. He let the door close behind them and began to descend the stairs. “The tunnels run under the Park. It’s very cool -- like a city beneath the guests’ feet. There are storage, offices, break rooms, the main cafeteria, and all kinds of stuff down here.”

“Why tunnels? Why not just build more buildings backstage?”

“Good question,” Kyle said, pleased that Rory had actually asked one, and an intelligent one, at that. “The tunnels make it easier and faster to get around the Park without having to worry about cutting through crowds, or running all the way around backstage. Plus, most costumed Actors are not allowed to cross over from one Land to another in front of the guests. It would destroy the enchantment if they did. Not to mention that in a Park this size, there are constant deliveries being made, construction being done, emergencies tended to... because it’s underground, the business end of Happy World is kept out of the sight and hearing of the guests, and the enchantment onstage is conserved.”

They reached the bottom of the stairway and Kyle opened another door, stepping through. “Here’s a good point to remember,” he said, pointing to a colored stripe on the wall opposite them. “It’s really easy to get lost down here. When you come down into the tunnels, remember what color stripe is on the wall in front of you. Every land has its own color; this blue one is for Galaxy Land. They all lead to the main tunnel where the cafeteria is, but when you want to find your way back, just follow the right color stripe. You should’ve memorized the colors for each Land. I’m sure you’ve seen them. They’re listed in your Handbook.”

As they walked along the poured concrete tunnel, the rubber soles of their athletic shoes made soft squicky sounds. Kyle felt the need to keep up a running commentary, as if giving a guided tour. He was, in a way, he guessed. “So, your last name is Stafford, huh? Like the owners of Happy World. Guess you must get that a lot, huh?”

Rory rolled his eyes. “More than you’d think.”

“Would be nice to have their money, though, not to mention the celebrity of owning the world’s biggest theme park.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rory shrugged, then pointed at a Segway, one of the motorized personal transportation units used by Park managers, as it whizzed by them. “Whoa, what’s that?”

The woman riding it nodded toward them, and Kyle automatically smiled and waved. “A Segway. A people-mover. They’re used to get around the Park and through the tunnels faster.”

“That’s so cool,” Rory said. “When do we get one of those?”

Kyle snorted. “We don’t. Managers use them, not us.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Sucks is not appropriate Happy World language,” Kyle chided. “No swearing while in costume, please.”

“I thought we were on break.”

Kyle sighed. “Not until we swipe our IDs through the time clock we’re not, and even then, you need to watch your language while in costume and on property. It’s all in your Handbook, Rory.”

“You really take all this Handbook stuff seriously, don’t you?” Rory asked. His lips were curved into a smirk, his gray eyes twinkling with humor.

Kyle felt his face heat up. “Of course I do, and so should you. The Handbook is vitally important!”

“No, vitally important is feeding the hungry, or conserving the rainforest, or fixing the ozone, not memorizing a stupid set of rules that don’t mean squat in real life.”

“There’s nothing wrong with following the rules,” Kyle snipped, feeling defensive. “If nobody obeyed the rules, there’d be chaos!”

“Yeah, well, there’s something to be said for chaos. Chaos is cool.”

Kyle sniffed and turned away, leading Rory deeper into the tunnels. “While you’re an Actor with Happy World, you’d better learn to follow the rules. You get one point for each major infraction, like being late for work. Get three points and you’re fired.”

“Are you always like this? Don’t you ever just cut loose?”

Kyle threw Rory a black look. “I didn’t get to where I am today by ‘cutting loose.’ I did it by following the rules.”

“You do know that you work cleaning up trash for a giant hamster, right?”

Kyle felt gut-punched. He opened his mouth to retort, but couldn’t find the words. Rory had unknowingly hit a sore spot with Kyle. He didn’t want to be in Groundskeeping, as a trainer or otherwise, and wasn’t particularly proud of himself at all. Not that there was anything wrong with being a Groundskeeper... it just wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be a face Actor, always had, but his dream hadn’t come true for him yet. He clamped his mouth shut and tried his best to ignore Rory.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Rory said after a few minutes. “That was out of line, I guess.”

Kyle ignored Rory’s apology. “Here’s the main cafeteria. There are break rooms and smaller cafés backstage at each of the Lands, but they only have vending machines. You’ll need to come here if you want to eat a hot meal.”

He ushered Rory into the cafeteria and directed him to grab a tray and get in line. There were four sections to the food line -- salads, sandwiches, hot entrees, and desserts. Kyle picked his usual salad and a carton of chocolate milk, and waited for Rory to choose his lunch.

Kyle took a slip of paper out of his wallet. “Lunch on your first day at work is on Happy Hamster,” he said, handing the chit to the cashier. “After this, you’re on your own.” He paid for his own lunch, then led Rory to a table near the back of the cafeteria.

“This is the section where Groundskeeping usually sits. You can sit anywhere, but as a rule, face Actors sit with face Actors over there by the window, attraction people sit over there by the cashiers, and food and beverage people sit in the next section over. Management has their own cafeteria, so you won’t see them in here.”

“Seriously? This is sort of like first class and coach on airplanes.”

“I guess. You’d better eat. We only have twenty minutes left of our break.” He looked down at his wilting salad and had just begun to eat when a shadow fell over their table. Looking up, he was shocked to see Charlie Taylor, in all his muscular splendor, standing there.

“Uh, hi, Charlie,” Kyle said, feeling his face grow hot. What did Charlie Taylor want with him?

Nothing, of course. Charlie never even glanced in Kyle’s direction. His attention was focused on Rory. It was as if Kyle wasn’t even at the same table.

“Hey. I saw you during the parade. You’re new here, right? I’m Charlie Taylor. I play Daniel the Dragon Slayer.”

“Yeah, I saw you on the dragon. I’m Rory Stafford. Nice to meet you,” Rory said before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Charlie motioned to a table on the other side of the room where the face characters gathered. “I’ve got a seat over there. Want to join me?”

Kyle wanted to crawl under the table and die. What was it about him that made him invisible to everybody? He stared down at his salad, fully expecting Rory to jump at the chance to eat lunch with Charlie. “Just remember that we have to clock back in soon, Rory. I’ll meet you at the time clock in fifteen minutes.”

“What are you, his mother?” Charlie growled, frowning at Kyle. He waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about being late. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah? Well, thanks but no thanks, Charlie. As you can see, I’m already having lunch with my friend Kyle, and since it’s my first day, I don’t want to be late getting back to work.”

Kyle’s head snapped up, and he blinked in amazement. Rory was choosing him over seriously sexy Charlie? How was that possible?

Maybe Rory was trying to make up for all the mistakes he’d made since starting work. Yeah, that must be it, Kyle thought, trying to rationalize Rory’s behavior. For picking me over Charlie, I just might be tempted to forget a few things on my checklist, too.

Charlie didn’t seem to be amused. In fact, he appeared insulted. “Hasn’t anybody explained the way things work around here? Nobody sits with the trash-lickers if they can help it. I’m offering you the chance to sit with the real Actors.”

Kyle opened his mouth to protest Charlie’s use of the derogatory term for Groundskeeping, but Rory beat him to it. “Jeeze, how do you fit that giant ego into that tiny, pointy pinhead of yours? If you’ll excuse us, dragon-fucker, we’d like to finish our lunch before we have to get back to work.”

Charlie sputtered indignantly, but turned on his heel and walked away. Kyle watched him sit with other face characters and shoot black looks in their direction. “Oh, man, Rory. You shouldn’t have said that. You’ve made an enemy on your very first day.”

Rory shrugged a shoulder. “Meh. I’m not afraid of him.”

“He’s one of the most popular face characters. He has power here. He can make your life miserable.”

“Let him try. Are you done eating? That sanctimonious asshole made me lose my appetite.”

Kyle felt his lips turn up in a wide smile, the first true one he’d had all day. He suddenly felt better than he had in a long while. “Absolutely. Let’s get back to work.”

He didn’t even chide Rory on his use of bad language while in costume.

Chapter Four

Thirty minutes for a break was nothing, Rory learned. As soon as they’d scarfed their food -- sensible salad for Kyle, a half-decent cheeseburger for Rory -- it seemed it was time to get back to work.

The only exit to the room was directly behind the table where Charlie sat. Walking past him didn’t bother Rory in the least, but he could tell Kyle was highly uncomfortable. He lingered behind Rory, and Rory could hear him shuffling his feet. He turned to meet Kyle’s worried brown gaze.

“This isn’t high school,” Rory said firmly. “You don’t have to worry about the popular kids not liking you.” God knew that Rory had never given a crap what people thought, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now.

“I know.” Kyle’s voice had a defensive edge that was kind of cute.

“Then pick your head up and pretend I just told you a really hilarious dirty joke. Laugh like it’s going out of style.” Rory continued on his path toward the door.

The nervous giggle that Kyle gave wasn’t what Rory was thinking of when he’d told him to laugh, but it would have to do. He turned to Kyle just as they passed Charlie’s table and said, “And then he told me to do it again. With chocolate.” Rory grinned big and raised his eyebrows.

Kyle’s giggle turned to a choke and a shocked expression, which would have been exactly what Rory was aiming for if he’d been telling a lewd story. The fact that he’d made the statement up but surprised Kyle anyway was hilarious. Rory wondered just how sheltered the guy was.

The burning look they received from Charlie could have singed the hair off Happy Hamster. Rory ignored it. There was no way he was going to get ruffled up over dirty looks from a guy who made his living wearing ripped cut-off pants. He could tell Kyle was having a harder time disregarding the looks, though.